Forest as Nourishment Workshop
Saturday, October 26th at Oxbow Regional Park in Gresham, Oregon
9am to 1pm, Bring Your Own Lunch
Pay What You Will: $125, $175, or $225
Register by end of day October 21st
In this half day workshop we’ll experience that process together, learning some of the building blocks of how our bodies connect with the more than human world.
The practice of forest bathing involves a series of guided, connective invitations to support you in slowing down, awakening the senses, and savoring communion with forest beings.
When we face ongoing adversity, it can feel supportive to let our body and minds exchange nourishment through our senses: feeling the stability of the ground beneath our feet, hearing the steady rhythm of bird song or water in a creek, inhaling the richness of evergreen fir or cedar in the air, and extending gratitude through our gentle touch to the land, the rain, or the air.
We’ll start off warming our senses up and getting to know one another before a guided walk through an old growth forest. Following this immersive experience, we’ll talk about the building blocks of how our senses connect to the natural world as part of an interactive exercise. You’ll practice creating, and trying on, sensory invitations to cultivate your own pathways of relating to the more than human world.
We’ll close the day by revisiting the morning’s trail as a community, taking turns sharing invitations and noticing what shifts about our experiences. We’ll take breaks and each our own packed lunches together.
| This is FOR You if: | This is NOT for you if: |
| you enjoy slowing down | you prefer fast hikes |
| you want to connect with the natural world | you feel “meh” about connecting with nature |
| you want to learn the “how” behind sensory experiences | you want forest bathing to take all stress away |
| you want building blocks to make a hike more intentional | you’re not comfortable inquiring into your sensory feelings |
*Please fill out registration form and make payment separately. Limited to 12 participants. Thank you.
You’ll receive directions to the location, details about parking pass, and the option to contact each other for carpooling the Wednesday before the walk. Canopy covered picnic tables will protect from a downpour. You’ll wear layers to stay warm and dry in the fall air.
Be nourished and held in the natural world and feel how you always belong.
You are welcome as you are.
Forest Bathing is informed by the Japanese practice of shinrin yoku, or literally a forest bath, like taking a sun bath (with clothes on), where your senses take in air, sounds, scents, tastes, temperatures, textures and supports of the land and forest environment. Research indicates that two to three hours of intentional time in a forested environment can boost immune response, reduce anxious thinking, and settle the nervous system. Forest bathing is one aspect of forest therapy, where the forest is the therapist and the relationship you develop with the more than human world, with companions, and with your body supports growth.
Walks are at a slow pace and guided invitations encourage us to reconnect with the nature that we are, restore ease, and give back our appreciation to these supportive ecosystems. Forest bathing reminds us of our innate aliveness – the same intelligence of life pumping sap in the trees is beating our hearts and circulating air in our lungs. Through recognition and appreciation of the more than human world, we reclaim our own personhood. Forest therapy is also part of many practices that seek to restore human relationships with the more than human world – or the many beings beyond people we share this planet with – leading toward reciprocal care that modern society has all but abandoned.
In a Forest Bathing Experience You Will:
*Experience the restorative and healing power of slowing down and spending time in the natural world.
*Explore sensory practices to reconnect to the natural world to help cultivate peace and calm.
*Connect with your self, one another, and the more than human world.
Please see the FAQ page to learn more about what to expect.
Limited to 12 participants
***Once registered, you will receive more details about the in-person walk.
You Provide:
•Transportation To/From Park (some parks are accessible by public transportation)
•$5 entry for walks at Oxbow Park
•Comfortable Layers for Walking Outdoors
•Rain Gear or Sun Gear, sunscreen
•Water Bottle
Locations
Oxbow Park is in what is now called Gresham, OR managed by Metro Regional Government. Trails not ADA accessible. Image to right is map provided by Metro.
On ceded original land of many bands of Chinook and more indigenous communities.
Mary S Young Park what is now called West Linn is managed by West Linn Parks and Recreation. There is one paved trail however it is on a slope. See here to download the map.
On ceded original land of many bands of Chinook and more indigenous communities.
Powell Butte Park is in what is now called Portland, OR managed by Portland Parks and Recreation. Some trails ADA accessible. Image to right is map provided by Portland Parks.
On ceded original land of many bands of Chinook and more indigenous communities.
Gabriel Park is in what is now called Portland, OR managed by Portland Parks and Recreation. Some trails are ADA accessible. Image to right is map provided by Friends of Gabriel Park.
On ceded original land of many bands of Chinook and more indigenous communities.
The Tryon Creek State Natural Area in what is now called Portland, OR managed by Oregon State Parks in collaboration with Friends of Tryon Creek. Some trails ADA accessible. Image to right is map provided by Oregon State Parks.
On ceded original land of Confederated Tribes of Willamette Valley and Calapooia indigenous communities.
Kelley Point Park in what is now called Portland, OR managed by Portland Parks and Recreation. Some trails ADA accessible. Image on right is map from Access Trails, a partnership of Access Recreation and Metro.
On original land of many bands of Chinook and more indigenous communities.
